Janari McCampbel: MHYC-CS 2011 Corpsmember of the Year

Mile High Youth Corps in Colorado Springs is proud to name nineteen-year-old Janari McCampbel as our Corpsmember of the Year. “JJ” is a Colorado Springs native, has been with our Corps for two Summer-of-Service years, and has earned education awards totaling $2,415 to date. He is now a freshman at Pueblo Community College majoring in Automotive Technology.

Janari’s corps career began on a day crew in 2010. Mile High Youth Corps was his first job. He came wanting to do something “physical” and putting his passion for restoring the environment to use. With some good, early coaching from a Crew Leader who saw his potential, he began to immediately improve his performance, learn new skills, and take on more responsibility; he has never looked back. At the end of the 2010 season, Janari “exceeded expectations” in all areas of his evaluation. His crew leader reported, “JJ works hard at all times and motivates others to do the same. He is a constant positive force.”

In 2011 Janari again applied to work on a day crew. Unfortunately only Camp Crew positions were available and wilderness camping was new to Janari and his family. They had many concerns about him accepting a position where he could be camped in the backcountry for up to ten days at a time. But Janari persevered in his wish to try a camping crew and convinced his parents to let him try. In a much more challenging environment, he continued to thrive and lead. His Crew Leader described Janari as someone who “self-initiates tasks and always volunteers for more; someone I can count on.” Janari says the corps experience has had, “a very positive effect on my life.” However, everyone knows that Janari has a very positive effect on the corps too.

Janari McCampbel: MHYC-CS 2011 Corpsmember of the Year

For more information on the awards ceremony (Feb. 6, 2012), please visit www.CYCA.org.

Youth Corps Awards Ceremony Invitation

Or for a PDF version of the invitation: YouthCorpsAwardsCeremonyInvitation

MHYC on MLK Jr. Day 2012

And so it begins…

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Brent and I am the new Outreach Alumni Mentor for 2012. I’m sure all of you were familiar with my predecessor, Michelle. Michelle wore a lot of hats at MHYC and in doing so, connected with many of you through this blog and our Twitter and Facebook pages. By all accounts, she left behind some very large shoes to fill but I am very excited and committed to doing my best for our community and this organization.

I joined Mile High Youth Corps in July of 2011 and simply fell in love with the work that we do. I am truly looking forward to the year ahead, and what a year we have coming up! In 2012, Mile High Youth Corps will celebrate its 20th Anniversary! We will be bringing on new crews for Land, Energy, and Water, powering though a Summer of Service, graduating a fantastic class of YouthBuild and bringing on a whole new group of Colorado youth to earn their GEDs and diplomas.

I cannot say enough about this organization and the community it serves, but that won’t stop me from trying. Over the next twelve months, I will give you a sneak peak into the inner workings of your favorite non-profit, keep you updated on all of our current projects in and around your neighborhood, and gear up for an amazing 20th anniversary celebration. I know I can count on you all, our dedicated followers, to help us make 2012 the most successful year of service that Colorado and Mile High Youth Corps have ever seen!

I look forward to serving you in the future,

Brent
2012 Outreach Alumni Mentor

MLK Jr. Day: How MHYC Gave Back in 2012

Date: January 16, 2012
Time: 8 a.m.
Location: Fairview Elementary School, Denver CO

Roughly 50 volunteers showed up this Martin Luther King Jr. Day to give back to their community. The focus this year? Fairview Elementary School in the Sun Valley Neighborhood: Denver’s most notoriously poor community. Though the school appears to be sturdy and noble from the outside, the inside is struggling. Though Fairview is one of the most richly diverse schools in the Denver system, Nearly 100% of the students at Fairview are on the free lunch plan and the interior of the school was in need of much cosmetic repair. Though a nonprofit like Mile High Youth Corps doesn’t have the capacity to solve the free lunch issue, they tackled what they could do best: getting hands on and dirty.

The event was kicked off by moving speeches by MHYC Executive Director, Kelly Causey, and by Denver school board member, Happy Haynes. Both spoke of Dr. King, his visions, and how even 44 years after his death, his dreams are still alive. With those encouraging words, the volunteers set to work.

The entire group consisted of 28 YouthBuild members, 20 Fairview students, staff and teachers, and MHYC staff, alumni and families. What was accomplished in their four hours of volunteering?

• two cafeteria walls were decorated with painted stencils and encouraging words
• the baseboards of one hallway were touched up with paint
• a boys’ bathroom was repainted
• one auditorium wall was repainted
• inspirational quotes were painted here and there throughout the school, in halls and classrooms
• wooden alphabet letters were creatively painted and displayed in a main hallway
• a couple dozen clay tiles were measured, flattened and cut, with the intent to later be fired, painted and displayed by the students
• snow and ice were removed from the playground to increase safety during recess.

All of this was done by volunteers ranging from kindergartners to senior citizens. The diversity of the group – all ages, races, sexes and creeds – couldn’t have been more fitting for a day devoted to Dr. King. He would have been proud to see the cohesiveness of the people.

Though Fairview is a poverty-stricken school and Sun Valley is an equally ailing neighborhood, it was difficult to see in the faces of the community members. The children laughed, played and participated in the projects with gusto. The parents, MHYC affiliates and other volunteers were equally engaged. It was a very pleasant sight: all of the woes of the community seemed to be forgotten for that few hours. It was certainly a productive and encouraging day for many.

(Photos to come soon!)

YouthBuild Alumni Kenny Luckes Inspires Other Youth

MHYC’s very own alumni of the YouthBuild program (class of 2010), spoke to the YouthBuild Conference of Youth Leaders.

Below you can view his speech:

The View From My Driver’s Side Window

Well virtual friends, it is time to say farewell. My second year of AmeriCorps has come to a close and I thought I would take some time to reflect and try to capture all my memories in a short little post.

As I look back on my first year, as an ACLC, a smile always comes across my face. I left college, traveled across the country and moved to a new city that I had never been to before and this is where I found a home. With the friends I made, the adventures I got to go on and the impact I made on the Denver community, I felt a new sense of calm that I only associate with comfort. I never imagined that a job would provide me with a family when I was so far away from home. To my fellow 2010 ACLCs, reread the notes we wrote to each other in our last week, if you still have them….. I guarantee a smile to appear. If not well, remember the laughter, the care free days, the adventures and a memorable year.

My time this year has been spent more in the office, not a part of a crew anymore, but more of an island meant to share with the community about MHYC life. Although, I missed being part of a larger group, I truly enjoyed my independent work and my ability to create my own projects and goals for the year. I leave this year with a sprinkling of new friends and a greater passion and drive to remain in the non-profit sector.

A lot of my time was spent in my car, driving from our office, to job fairs and out to see the crews in the field. It wasn’t until the most recent snowfall that I realized how beautiful the scenery is from the window of my car. I got to drive through the foothills to visit our crews in Golden Gate, the sky line of Denver from our federal location and most impressively a full view of the Rocky Mountains from the bridge leading to our warehouse location on 8th and Canosa. So lucky to have those views through my office window 

Thank you MHYC for two great years filled with leadership, growth, side splitting laughter, life long relationships and most importantly, experiences.

~Michelle, 2011 Outreach Alumni Mentor

What is your favorite thing about the MHYC uniform?

Our uniforms may get dirty, but they are what make us stand out in a crowd.

The uniform includes:
Cargo Pants
Hunter Green T-shirt with our logo
Boots (steel toed preferably)
On days like today, a hunter green sweatshirt

Staff and CMS alike all had positive things to say about the outfit that defines MHYC.

How well do you know our dirty boots?

Every youth who comes to work at Mile High Youth Corps is required to wear steel-toed work boots everyday. Well-worn work boots become a source of pride for many of the Corpsmembers, youth participants, at MHYC; they are a sign of having made a positive contribution to our community and environment.

Test your knowledge of our dirty boots today by taking our quiz and matching the boots to the Corpsmember!

Learn more about our Dirty Boots Campaign for Colorado Gives Day.

You provide the boots. We get ‘em dirty.

The Corps Tools

As part of our Dirty Boots Campaign, we wanted to highlight the tools of the trade here at Mile High Youth Corps.

View a slideshow of the tools used at the Corps.

You can make a difference in the lives of young adults throughout Denver and the Southern Front Range this month by participating in Colorado Gives Day by making a donation to MHYC so we can continue to provide tools for our crews to use for their essential conservation work.

Giving Thanks at MHYC

Hope everyone had a tremendous Thanksgiving break and got the opportunity to eat lots of food and rest! A tradition at MHYC is to have an organization wide potluck the day before Thanksgiving and this year we had a feast! CMs and staff piled turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, salad and desserts galore onto their plates and sat down for an early Turkey Day meal.

We asked CMs what they were most thankful for and here were some of their answers:
“Thankful for a job!”
“For paid vacations”
“For my Twitter Followers”
“I am thankful for my FRAMILY… my friends that have become my family”
Here were a couple of visual thanks:

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO BROUGHT A DELICIOUS TREAT TO OUR THANKSGIVING FEAST! Happy belated Thanksgiving